Looking for a job is tough. Time spent scouring newspapers, job posting sites, and going door-to-door in neighborhood shopping and business centers is tiring and frustrating. That’s why Goodwill Industries of New Mexico is partnering with a new initiative in Albuquerque called TalentABQ.

Helping New Mexicans find jobs have long been part of Goodwill’s mission, and this partnership with Innovate+Educate, the City of Albuquerque, the Department of Workforce Solutions, Central New Mexico Community College, and Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, makes it easier to do that.

TalentABQ helps match employers with job seekers based on skills, and has 29 Skill Up Centers throughout Albuquerque where job seekers can electronically assess their abilities through the WorkKeys® program, and access KeyTrain® to improve workplace skills. Goodwill is proud to be one of these Skill Up Centers.

KeyTrain® is a free series of online courses job seekers can do at their pace to enhance skills employers want and practice for the WorkKeys® assessments. The skill score shows employers a job seeker’s ability to do a job, instead of basing hiring decisions solely on experience and education. Upon completing the three most common WorkKeys® assessments can earn you a National Career Readiness Certificate, recognized by employers in more than 40 states.

Goodwill® has a more than 110 year-plus track record in providing services that meet critical human needs in local communities in the U.S., Canada, and 14 other countries. Goodwill is a leading social services enterprise, and consistently ranks among top charities that make your donations go further.

Because we are widely known and respected as a network of nonprofits that fund job training and employment services through the sales of donated items in Goodwill stores, we sometimes stand in the line of fire from individuals and organizations who are misinformed and/or misrepresent us to the public.

This negative rumor mill continually resurfaces in the form of a now seven-year-old email that includes a variation of a message like this: “Think about these before you donate. As you open your pockets to do a good thing and make yourself feel good, please keep these facts in mind…”

The message then quotes erroneous information and salary figures for several nonprofit organizations’ chief executives, including a reference to a so-called “Goodwill CEO and OwnerMark Curran, who profits $2.3 million a year.” Jim Gibbons is the CEO of Goodwill Industries International. Learn more about him.

Goodwill Industries International earns $5 billion revenue per year, and we spend about 83 cents of every dollar on programs and services for people in need. This is a very healthy number in the nonprofit world, and a solid indicator of our commitment to good stewardship of your donations. Read personal stories of some of the people whose lives have been transformed through Goodwill programs.

Goodwill definitely encourages you to “think before you donate” — the one legitimate message that this otherwise spurious email contains — and to research and learn more about the charities you’d like to support. Be certain the organization you choose uses its revenue for charitable purposes that support a mission you can get behind.